“You can’t be positive without knowing what sadness really is,” Sigrid tells Apple Music. “You're not either/or, and I guess that comes from me as well.” The Norwegian’s breakthrough track, “Don’t Kill My Vibe”, perfectly captured this sentiment. A pop rocket detailing a bruising experience of being belittled as a young female writer, its DNA runs strong through her debut. There are as many middle fingers to record label execs and terrible boys as there are joyous odes to her band and self-empowerment. Join Sigrid for a tour of her head, and Sucker Punch.

“Sucker Punch”
“I chose this track to start the album as it was the intro for our show on tour and it felt really good. Sucker Punch is the album name and it summarises it in a pretty cool way, because all of the songs are a sucker punch. Whether it's a ballad or a big pop song—they're very in your face.”

“Mine Right Now”
“This track is inspired by ’80s music. I don't know who, I just wanted it to be big! I was definitely imagining playing this at a huge festival on a big stage. I want people to be joyful and happy when they leave the show.”

“Basic”
“With this song I wanted to bring people down and then bring them up. It’s a song that has been in the mix for two or three years as one of the earlier demos. We wrote it on the piano and ended up just having that version. We were producing it and thought it would be nice to let people into the studio session. We had an iPhone and put on Voice Memos while I was singing—we didn't even have a proper microphone.”

“Strangers”
“I love romantic films, but it's never as it is on film. I had a personal experience where I thought something was very magical but then it wasn't, and that's okay. That’s just real life. It was a really sad ballad when we started, but I thought, ‘I don't want to make a soppy song, let’s make this fun.’”

“Don’t Feel Like Crying”
“I share the most on this song. It’s about going through a breakup. I prefer to stay private about my private life, but I also write about it. That's not my whole diary. I guess I've just shared a few pages. That balance is always hard to find: How much should you share and how much do you want to keep to yourself? That's something that I need to be more aware of now.”

“Level Up”
“We were recording in my hometown and for some reason didn’t even go to the studio to finish. We stayed in the kitchen and wrote it there. It's such a kitchen song! I listen to it while cooking. It’s an homage to gaming. If you're going through something difficult and you get through it, that's when you level up and go to the next level. It doesn't need to just be relationships, it can be a friendship or whatever.”

“Sight of You”
“This track is about my band and the crowds at our shows. It was written with Electric Picnic in Ireland in mind. That's one of the best festivals we've played. I had the time of my life. You can hear that it's not just happiness in the song. With touring, sometimes you have to wake up really early, you don't get enough sleep and you're away from home for a long time.”

“In Vain”
“I wrote this song in London two years ago. It was never finished and was on my computer forever. I thought, ‘What the hell do I do with this song?’ It's so good and we were playing it so much live, but we didn’t know how to finish it. We brought the band into a studio in Norway, they just played what they play live and it worked.”

“Don’t Kill My Vibe”
“It's about a writing session I was in that was difficult. I didn't feel welcome or like they respected me, and I thought, ‘Why the hell am I here if we're not going to work together?’ I was really annoyed because I didn't know how to let them know I wasn't okay with it. I called my mum, who is my biggest idol—she's a really cool, empowered woman. She said, 'Go back, finish the studio session and then maybe you'll get something good out of it.' She was right. I got this song.”

“Business Dinners”
“I wanted to make something that sounded like Studio Ghibli, the Japanese film company behind Spirited Away. That soundtrack is wonderful. It’s one of the few songs where I've been very visual with my inspiration. I wanted to talk about business but in a fun, quirky way.”

“Never Mine”
“Sucker Punch is a rollercoaster. It's up and down in every second. This is definitely the most ‘static’ song I’ve done. I wanted to give myself a challenge and try to make something smooth where you just get in the groove. For me, this is the last song at a school dance.”

“Dynamite”
“It's hard to make whatever is happening in private life work with my job. That's relatable to a lot of people, not just my profession. Everyone's so busy all the time. I always feel empowered when I listen to this song, and that's how I wanted to finish the album—end it on a strong note.”